perfection

I am obsessed with this. Adding this to my study music...

walk on the water

Welp, it's finally here. The little gem of a week we like to call Finals.  Which is exciting (cause that means vacay is almost here!), but also stressful as professors seem to think that their final is the only one you're taking.  And trying to remember the truckload of information that has been squeezed into a full semester is always fun :) 

In the process of a late night study sesh, I usually have music on for part of the time just to ease the pain a bit.  And it's even better if it's really great, inspirational music (and no, I am not talking about the Rocky theme song playing in the background...).  Tonight, the song that I kept putting on repeat was Britt Nicole's "Walk on the Water".  It is such an uplifting and beautiful song...

"Walk On the Water"

Britt Nicole

You look around
It's staring back at you
Another wave of doubt
Will it pull you under
You wonder

What if I'm overtaken
What if I never make it
What if no one's there?
Will You hear my prayer?

When you take that first step
Into the unknown
You know that He won't let you go

So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to hold to you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes and you can
Walk on the water too

So get out
And let
Your fear fall to the ground
No time to waste
Don't wait
Don't you turn around and miss out
Everything you were made for
I know you're not sure
So you play it safe
Try to run away

If you take that first step
Into the unknown
He won't let you go

(step out)
Even when a storm hits
(step out)
Even when you're broken
(step out)
Even when your heart is telling you telling you to give up
(step out)
When your hope is stolen
(step out)
You can't see where you're going
You don't have to be afraid

So what are you waiting,
What are you waiting for?

So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to hold to you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes and you can
Walk on the water...
Walk on the water too 

Love, Love, Love. 

thankful.

Man was it good to be back with family and friends.

After a crazy last couple days of school before break, Erik and I were able to fly our butts back home to good ol St. Louie.  Whenever I go back home, I realize how much I've missed it.  As a kid who moved around a lot, St. Louis was one place that always felt like home since our family always lived in or near the area.  The feeling I get when we touch down in that sweet city is like no other.  In a way, I feel like I am back where I belong.

And seeing all the people I love so much after not seeing them for months is just icing on the cake.  I am so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing, loving, beautiful family.  God is good.

On the topic of Thanksgiving, here is what I am thankful for:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun and I wish we could have seen everyone for longer.  But I guess we have Christmas break to look forward to.

erik, me, kyle and michelle

my grandma and mom

Aunt Becky, mom and Uncle Dan

bff

everyone hanging out for Erik's bday

Jodi and Paul

Erik with Hugh

And the other big occasion of the past week was my amazing husband's 23rd Birthday.  After being together since he was 18, he just amazes me more and more with the man he has become.  After dating him a week, I knew I was truly blessed to get to know a man with a heart like his.  He is my favorite person in the whole wide world and he makes me so happy.  Just thinking about the guy warms my heart and makes me smile.

Here are a few things about the Birthday boy that make him so special to me...

- He lights up any room he is in.

- He can charm the pants off of anyone.  I would love to see him in the same room as the Queen of England.  I bet he would have her laughing her butt off...

- There is no one else that makes me laugh harder and have more fun.  I wish there was a candid camera in our house to show the goofiness that goes on.

- He lives each day striving to be a man of God and seeks wisdom from Him alone.

- He has the biggest, most caring heart.  I am so lucky to reap the benefits of it.  (I'm sure our little Ellie feels pretty lucky too...)

- He is passionate about the things he does and always puts 110% into whatever he takes on.

- He is one of the most driven and motivated human beings I know.

- He is going to make the most unbelievable dad one day.

- He doesn't take life too seriously and is great about putting things into perspective.

- He values my opinions and gives great advice.

- He is humble and giving.

- He is so loyal to his family and friends.  I have never in my life met a more loyal person.  He stands up for the people he loves no matter what.

- He looks at everyone with nonjudgemental eyes and sees a person for their positives not their negatives.

- He is super sexy and has a REALLY nice body (...sorry, but its the truth!).

- He is truly one of a kind....

Erik, God has gifted us a love that seems to grow in strength and intensity every time I turn around to face it.  I never knew a love like this even existed until you came into my life.  I love you to the moon and back.  You are such an incredible man and I can't believe I was able to talk you into being my husband. hahahaha SUCKER!!!

our first place

The little apartment we have the privilege of renting has such a special place in our hearts.  As our first dwelling as husband and wife, as well as the first place we get to live together, it's been so fun to settle in and make it feel like a home.  Although it took us awhile (we have so much stuff!), it felt so good to get things situated and put together to feel like it's ours.  And although there are a few things we would still like to do eventually, I am pretty proud of the home we've made.  Especially for college students on a low budget! Erik got his handy-man on and put together the dressers, dining room table, chairs, and bar stools as well as doing all kinds of other odds and ends to get the apartment in shape.  And with lots of organizing and cleaning on my part (and with some help from Carissa in the decor department), we were able to get it looking pretty good if I do say so myself.  For all of you who have yet to visit, here are a couple of pics to show you the place we call home.  

our bedroom

she can't resist a made bed...

living room, with our new couches! :)

view from the other side

kitchen and dining room

together in our first apartment

Now come visit us!! :)

lookin' and lovin'

Kind of obsessing over this look right now.  It's so easy and effortless, yet so put together.  And those BOOTS.... I'm such a sucker for killer boots.  And those I want in my closet right now.

one day

If one day I have a little baby girl, and if she has a round room, and if my art skills are up to par... I would love to do this. So beautiful.  Maybe one day...

making time

So for the obvious factoid of the day: life gets so dang busy when you are a married college student (and taking Fashion Illustration- grrrrrrr)! I barely have time to blink!  

But man do I feel grateful that I have my hubby going through it all with me.  Going through this together is way better than going through it separately.  Another plus is that we understand each other's schedules.  As two people who struggle a bit with managing their time (ok, that may just be me mostly- but I am trying to get better! :)), it has been a learning and growing experience.  The most important thing we have found is that we still have to set aside some time in the week to just hang out together- which can be tricky when you are pulling all nighters, running around campus, and down right exhausted.  But so far, we have seemed to make it work.  God is really showing us the importance of just being still...

It's also important to make sure you are making time for friends as well.  Luckily, Erik and I have some great ones and get to see them at least once a week.  After a busy week, we got together with some of those great people, Carissa and Josh, to carve some pumpkins before Halloween.  So fun!  Here are our results.... Can you guess which one is Erik's?

My Pumpkin- inspired by A Nightmare Before Christmas

Yes, this is Erik's and Yes, it is hands grabbing a butt...

Hope you are having a great week! And make sure you are taking some time to be with loved ones :)

all in all

As an avid magazine fiend, I had read up on just about every article I could about preparing for the day of my wedding.  From exercise tips to skin care regimens, I thought I had it all under control.  In a nutshell, the day of August 6, 2010 was one I had been thinking about for months.  So let me paint you the picture of the kind of day I had dreamed up in my mind:  I saw myself lying in bed, awakening after a solid 8 hours of sleep.  The morning would be a relaxing one- maybe a light jog through the neighborhood, a quiet time on the porch and a late breakfast followed by pampering and peace with the girls at the nail salon.  Afterwards, we would all head to the hotel and begin the getting ready process.  I saw myself surrounded by my family and friends in one big room as I got beautified for the biggest day of my life, time passing slowly.  I even imagined what I would be nibbling on (cause lets be honest, not only would I not have much of an appetite, but I was going to look HOT in that dress! ) and the music that would be playing in the background.  Boy, did my wild imagination love the wedding planning process!

So its pretty safe to say that my expectations were just a little high...

And as you can probably guess, my morning didn't quite look like that.  After squeezing in maybe 2 hours of sleep and keeping my poor bridesmaids up to work on last minute projects like tying ribbons, we got up and hit the ground running.  With my awesome time management skills (all who know me know I am always "behind schedule", or "fashionably late" as I like to call it, yet they still choose to love me anyway :) ) we managed to get out of the house and head for the nail salon almost an hour behind schedule.

The drive to the nail salon, which is normally 10 minutes, ended up being almost an hour due to stand still traffic.  After a few deep breaths and some encouraging words from my amazing friends, we stepped into the salon and waited in line for another 15 minutes due to the fact our appointment 2 hours prior was no longer relevant.  The process, which was only supposed to take about an hour, took 2.  More deep breaths.

Over 3 hours behind schedule and trying not to freak out yet, we headed for the city.  A couple of the girls went to the hotel to start hair and makeup while me and 3 others headed to Windows On Washington to tie up some "loose ends" (aka: more stuff not going according to plan).  After doing all we could at the venue, the rest of us made our way to the hotel.  At this point, I was so looking forward to just getting into the ginormous suite we had booked and relaxing a bit before heading to the church.


As we approached the hotel room door, yup you guessed it, more trouble.  Instead of the spacious, 2 room suite with a kitchen, living room, dining room, and master bedroom, we had two very small rooms down the hall from each other.  I was beginning to wonder if I was in some token Ben Stiller movie where so many bad things happen you feel bad for him the whole film... or maybe Ashton Kutcher had decided to start up Punk'd again and was now targeting the wedding industry? Whatever the case, I wasn't having it.  After another deep breath, I walked to the front desk to see what the dealio was.  Apparently, our room was "out of service", despite the fact I had called a couple of days before to make sure everything was good to go.  With my awesome big sis and my amazing cousin Nichole at my side, the staff put us in a smaller suite along with the two rooms.  Which was good, except the suite was on a different floor from the other two rooms that had now been designated for hair and makeup.  So instead of us all being together like I thought (and the videographer and photographer being able to get shots of us all together), we were spread out the entire time rotating between hair and makeup.    
Another deep breath.

Working my multitasking skillz

While all this is going on, my poor mother has been running around town to get the dang programs printed (the ones that just didn't want to cooperate!) and make sure we were fed.  Due to lack of time (the evident theme for the day),  she wasn't able to make it to pick up the favors we had ordered.  Unbeknownst to me, my hard working bridesmaids, in full bridesmaid attire and looking like the wedding party brigade, took off to get the job done.  They were such troopers!

Annie with the infamous favors

With hair and makeup done, and now just an hour away from the ceremony starting, I scoured the hotel for the girls so we could hop in the car and get to the chapel.  Not finding anyone and realizing I was now minutes away from getting married, I grabbed my dress and shoes, jumped into my car, and took off.  At this point, I was desperately trying not to hyper-ventilate.  I can only imagine what people thought when they looked over at the car next to them and saw a lone bride in her veil, talking to herself like a crazy person in an attempt to keep calm.  There I was, streaking through St. Louis in my silver Chevy Malibu, racing like a mad woman to get to my wedding on time.

Speeding up to the church parking lot and throwing my car into a handicapped spot, I raced in through the back entrance, hoping no one would see me.  There I was faced with another dilemma: How was I to get downstair without Erik seeing me?  I stepped dead in my tracks, dress flung over my shoulder and stilettos in hand, and broke down.  I didn't know where my mom was, where my bridesmaids were, or where to go and my wedding was to start in 10 minutes....
Many short shallow, shaky breaths.

Thats when I was saved by an angel.  Two wonderful women from the church Erik and I attend in St. Louis (and if you're reading this, you know who you are) swooped in and saved the day.  Upon seeing the bride disheveled and in tears (I can't even imagine what they were thinking when they saw me- I had to have looked absolutely nuts!), they took my hand and led me down the stairs I had failed to see in my state of disarray.  Reaching the bottom of the steps and rounding the corner, I took in the group of my family and friends anxiously awaiting my arrival.  A flood of emotions, ones that I had been suppressing all day long, came bursting out like vomit.  My uncle, who was our officiant, came to my aid as he prayed with me and calmed me down.  The rest of that 15 minutes went by in a blur.  I remember the relief I felt when my mom walked in the door, putting on my dress, and my bridesmaids swooshing through the door just in the nick of time as my sweet sister ran to me to give me a big hug.

I also remember the special and private moment I had with my dad just moments before he gave me away.  No cameras, nobody listening in, no more chaos- just me and him. That moment is one that will remain vivid in my mind forever.

Walking down the aisle with my dad

Looking back on all that happened in the moments leading up to my wedding, although not what I expected, it was all still so special.  People who I love dearly were not only there for me, but they went above and beyond to make sure my day was perfect.  I know God placed them with me on that day for a reason.  With all that went wrong, I would have been such a mess without the huge support system I had.  Every single one of my bridesmaids was there for me and took care of me.  And my amazing big sis and mom worked their tails off to do all they could for me.  I will be forever grateful to all of them.

my beautiful and amazing bridal party

But even with the backstage craziness and chaos,  my wedding day was perfect.   Walking up to the alter to meet my future husband was even more amazing than I could have ever imagined.  Getting to finally marry the man I had dreamed about marrying for as long as I can remember was above and beyond any expectation I could have had.  And to be in a room filled with people you love and care about and who love and support you as well was indescribable.

so so happy

So long story short, things don't always go how you expect them to.  And when they don't, it's ok.  What really mattered was that I got to marry my best friend and be surrounded by our family and friends we both love so much.  My day was my day and I will always look back to it with a huge smile on my face.  Plus, my bridesmaids and I will always have this funny story to look back on and get a kick out of what I put them through!

So I'm leaving you with a link to a short clip, made by Sweet Tea Media , of our wedding.  They truly captured the buildup of excitement, the pure joy, and the peacefulness that surrounded us in that chapel as we committed our lives to each other. Hope you enjoy :)

http://vimeo.com/14011951

the little things

So Erik and I are about to take off for a camping trip this weekend and wanted to make sure one of our tents was good to go.  On completion of putting the thing together, our little dog, well "little" in the labrador world, was so stoked.  She proceeded to take her toys out of her toy box (ya, i know... we are so those people who have a toy box for their pup) and neatly place them in the tent.  After littering the floor with her prize possessions, she laid down inside, fully content.  It's been her home ever since and we have yet the heart to take it down.  Hence, its been set up in the middle of the living room for a couple of days now.

the toys

chillaxin' in her new home

And that's our crazy little Ellie.  She is such a fun, playful, and loving companion.  I can't imagine our family without her.

it's a brand new day

This whole blogging thing has been a long time coming.  It's something I have been thinking about for awhile for several different reasons.  One is that I was once an English major (before I woke up and realized I was waaay out of my league) and there is a small part of me, make that a very small part of me,  that misses writing on a regular basis.   I also see so many other great bloggers out there and have always thought the whole concept seemed pretty fun.  Plus, I just got married to the man of my dreams (more on that later) and as a newlywed I figured it would be nice to journal a bit of this new journey and all our daily schananigans.  It's also nice to have something so that our family and friends, many of who are far away from us in Missouri and Illinois, can keep up on our lives.  


So here I am :)